News anchors on the rise at Channel 13

The news anchors learned last week that they have improved their positions within the news department s hierarchy at WTVG-TV, Channel 13. Regnier is moving from weekend evenings to weekday mornings, replacing the departed Kelli Wiese, and Brown is switching from Sunday mornings to weekend evenings.

For Regnier, who started at the ABC-owned station in 1996, the morning position is the ultimate goal for me. She previously worked as an assignment editor, reporter, and Sunday morning anchor before moving to weekend evenings two years ago.

The morning schedule is a really nice fit for family life, she said, noting this will be the first time in her career that she and her husband, Michael, a partner in a local law firm, have had the same days off. The shift ends at 1 [p.m.], so I ll be able to pick up my kids from school every day.

WTVG s two-hour morning newscast begins at 5 a.m., which means she will be setting her alarm clock as well as a backup alarm clock for 2:45 a.m. ( No one gets up that early naturally, she joked.)

Regnier, 35, believes the market s top-rated morning newscast is a perfect marriage of hard news and personalities. She will share the anchor desk with Jeff Smith.

For Brown, who joined WTVG in 2002 after a seven-month stint at rival WTOL-TV, Channel 11, anchoring the 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts on weekends is a perfect situation for me.

I still want to report, so this gives me the best of both worlds, she said.

Brown, 26, will be paired on the anchor desk with another WTOL alumnus, Bill Hormann.

That s so funny, she said. [WTOL s] loss has been totally our gain. It s very interesting how everything has worked out.

ONE-HOUR DELAY: Because of NBC s broadcast schedule for the Summer Olympics, the late-night newscast on WNWO-TV, Channel 24, will air at midnight through Aug. 28.

WNWO news director Lou Hebert says the Olympics will provide a massive lead-in for the late newscast and, therefore, he sees it as an opportunity to gain new viewers. To that end, Hebert said the station s primary anchors Jim Blue and Jennifer Stacy (news), Bill Spencer (weather), and Jim Tichy (sports) will work seven days a week through the closing ceremonies on Aug. 29.

ALL IS GOOD: On back-to-back days last week, WTOL announced that news anchor Chrys Peterson had signed a five-year contract and Mitch Jacob, who has major-market experience, had been hired as news director. Both moves are considered key to the continued ratings success for the CBS affiliate.

It s been a great week, general manager Bob Chirdon said in what may qualify as an understatement.

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